Yachtmaster /Master of Yachts Fast-track - Australia

Product Details

If a life on the ocean is for you, then a gap year based around one of our Yachtmaster Programmes is the course to set. The aim of the training is to become a qualified Royal Yachting Association Yachtmaster. As a Yachtmaster, you are not only a highly skilled skipper, but are eligible for a wide range of work in and around boats, which means almost anywhere in the World.

The growth of the activity and yacht charter markets ensures there is always a demand for qualified skippers. Many of our graduates choose to work their way around the world, which is now possible thanks to the huge number of independent charter companies and the scale of worldwide companies. The scope of the larger companies also means that you can return to the same employer - in different locations - every year during university holidays. This way your gap year will become an integral plan for training and employment than runs alongside your degree.

Yachtmaster/Master of Yachts Fast-track is the classic course for confident skippers who have done a lot of sailing. This is a quick, efficient route to the RYA/MCA Yachtmaster Offshore/Master of Yachts 200gt 150nm qualification or its Yachting Australia equivalent.

If you have less experience, see our Yachtmaster/Master of Yachts Traineeships. These are designed to train beginners, and those with only crewing experience, to take charge as skipper.

The Fast-track is delivered in three parts, to make the most of the sailing seasons. The first part is our essential Safety & Survival Week. Part 2 provides eight weeks of intensive yacht handling, seamanship training, racing and offshore navigation - not to mention a great sailing adventure and a lot of fun too. Most people now take a break. This is an opportunity to travel and log extra miles before returning to Flying Fish for your Part 3 Yachtmaster Offshore/Master of Yachts 200gt 150nm exam.

The Safety & Survival Week is based at Cowes on England's Isle of Wight. Waterside accommodation is at our historic Point Cottages. You deal with simulated emergencies at sea, radio operation, fire fighting and first aid, including courses leading to the four basic STCW95 qualifications that are increasingly demanded of all professional skippers and crew.

After a five day break, you fly to Sydney, Australia, for Part 2. Shore based accommodation is at Manly, one of Sydney's best suburbs, a stone's throw from the stunning surf beach and a short walk to the cafes, bars and restaurants. Here you begin with a week of skills and drills in yachts and asymmetric dinghies in beautiful Sydney Harbour. The theory programme covers advanced navigation, meteorology, collision regulations and passage planning. Then you start your offshore passages, with coaching in boat handling, sail trimming and safety drills, including man overboard, evacuation, and heavy weather procedures. You take time out to learn to dive or take an advanced course before a further period offshore to complete your Coastal Skipper course.

Next you learn spinnaker handling and race tactics on board our matched Beneteau 40.7 race yachts. This popular week includes training in drops and hoists, gybes and trims as well as broach recovery. Sail past the Opera House and under the Harbour Bridge! Flying Fish is based in a spectacular setting at Middle Harbour Yacht Club, the friendliest yacht club in Sydney. Course members are given free membership, which means you can put your name down for twilight races with local crews.

Part 2 finishes with a long offshore passage: fabulous sailing in challenging subtropical conditions. Explore the New South Wales coast, heading south following the route of the Sydney Hobart race or north towards Broughton Island, Seal Rocks and Coffs Harbour. Weather conditions vary from warm nor'-easterly breezes to strong, cool southerly busters. This is offshore sailing at its best.

By the end of Part 2 you can expect to have achieved a YA Coastal Skipper qualification and be confident in charge of a yacht and its crew on coastal passages.

During your course debrief you choose the date and location of your Part 3 Yachtmaster assessment. For most people, Part 3 takes place over two weeks in the challenging tidal waters of the Solent in southern England, including a one-day practical exam for the RYA Yachtmaster Offshore certificate. If you prefer a warmer climate, dates are also available in Sydney, where you can choose between the RYA qualification and its Yachting Australia equivalent.

Many gappers wish to combine their training in Australia with independent travel, so this is a great time to start exploring. If you're keen to work for a while in the sailing industry in Australia, we can take you through a Yachting Australia Inshore Instructor course which will qualify you for a wide range of interesting work all around the southern hemisphere.

As a graduate of Flying Fish, you can take advantage of our free careers advice and job placement service to find numerous yacht positions all over the world.

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18 year old Justin from Surrey had just finished his A’ Levels. He was not sure what he wanted to do next but he DID know that he wanted to go to Australia! “I love sailing and thought the Flying Fish Yachtmaster Fast-track was a great way of seeing Australia and getting a professional qualification at the same time.”

“The Coffs Harbour Regatta was the highlight of the course for me, racing offshore up the coast was AMAZING. In fact the whole course was just amazing! We spent Australia Day racing from the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club and did loads of twilight racing from Middle Harbour.”

Living in one of the Fish apartments in Pine Street, Justin was a mere stone’s throw away from Manly Beach. “Manly’s such a great place to live. We met up with a friend travelling who wanted to meet at Bondi. We were so disappointed with Bondi compared to Manly Beach. Our mate then came and stayed in Manly for a while – it’s just so much nicer!”

“After Part Two of our course, we flew up to the Whitsundays. We’d got our PADI Open Water ticket as part of the Yachtmaster course so we did some diving up at the Great Barrier Reef - faaaaaaaantastic! We then travelled back down the East Coast on a bit of a road trip. Back in Sydney we spent our last week relaxing before we flew back to the UK to start swotting for our practical assessment in the Solent in mid-March!”

Justin passed his Yachtmaster Offshore assessment with flying colours and went on to do his Yachtmaster Power conversion. He then spent the Summer working at Seaview Yacht Club teaching sailing and providing safety boat cover.

“My advice would be definitely go and do it! We had a whale of a time and everyone I’ve told about our course is very jealous. We met so many different people - and now I’m not as frightened of big seas.”